Art masterpieces that Nazi Party’s Goering stole from Jews are now published: The full handwritten catalogue of Hermann Goering’s huge collection of stolen art masterpieces was published for the first time this Wednesday. Kept in France’s diplomatic archives, the document, which includes notes on which Jews the works were confiscated from and where they were sent, was until now only available to scholars. The full list, called The Goering Collection, has now been issued by Flammarion. It is hoped this will help the process of returning looted art to its rightful owners and their descendants.

France & Netherlands Jointly Acquire Rothschild Rembrandts: Ministers of Culture Fleur Pellerin and Jet Bussemaker announced that France and the Netherlands will jointly acquire the two portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit painted in 1634 by Rembrandt van Rhijn. Both ministers have been working closely for several months to secure this agreement, through which the two paintings will be exhibited together, alternatively in the Louvre and Rijksmuseum. The owners of the works have confirmed their agreement for this joint acquisition.

Proposed law in Scotland could affect museum objects: A change to the law in Scotland could have an impact on objects left at museums, where the owner has disappeared or has become untraceable. The draft bill before the Scottish Parliament would first seek to introduce a 20 year positive prescription period, whereby a possessor of corporeal movable property (i.e. an object like a painting) would be able to become the owner after 20 years, provided he or she is in good faith and the owner has never asserted ownership during the period.

Tuymans and photographer reach amicable agreement in copyright case: The Belgian artist Luc Tuymans has reached an out-of-court settlement with the photographer Katrijn Van Giel in a copyright dispute that raised questions about an artist’s right to use news pictures as the basis for art. The terms of the agreement are confidential but in a joint statement Tuymans and Van Giel described it as “amicable”. At the centre of the case was a 2011 painting entitled A Belgian Politician by Tuymans, which was based on a photograph by Van Giel of Jean-Marie Dedecker, the leader of Belgium’s right-wing LDD political party. The painting used the same dramatic cropping of the face and emphasis on Dedecker’s sweaty brow as the photograph it was based on.

Italy’s export laws may change: The prestigious Biennale Internazionale di Antiquariato di Firenze (Florence’s antiques biennial) is the oldest event of its kind, so it’s a cruel irony that Italy’s antiques dealers, as well as Modern and contemporary gallerists, are finding themselves cut off from the international art market by legislation that they argue is stringent and dated. On 2 October, a roundtable discussion will take place at the biennial to present a list of proposed amendments that gallerists and auction houses hope will revive Italy’s art market, which, according to the 2014 Tefaf report, registered 0% growth and only 1% of global market share.

Russian Oligarch’s Legal Battle Entangles U.S. Art Consultant: A complex legal battle between a Russian billionaire and a high-profile Swiss art dealer that has played out in Europe and Asia in recent months has now landed in the U.S. Yves Bouvier, the dealer, filed papers in a U.S. federal court on Friday requesting that the New York-based art consultant who allegedly ignited Mr. Bouvier’s clash with Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev be questioned. The petition to subpoena art consultant Sandy Heller is part of a broader effort to counter Mr. Rybolovlev’s allegations that Mr. Bouvier overcharged the wealthy Russian art collector.

Law Protecting Artistic Freedom is Passed in France: Le Monde reports that a bill protecting artistic freedom was passed into law by France’s National Assembly on Monday night, despite speculation that conservative politicians would present a challenge. The new law states that “artistic creation is free” and that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the freedom of artistic expression and dissemination.

Simon Goodman’s family’s art collection: The Nazis stole Simon Goodman’s family’s art collection. He has made it his mission to recover as much of it as he can. Goodman is working to track down the nearly 1,000 pieces of art, silver, and other precious objects owned by his grandparents on behalf of himself, his brother, and his “dear aunt” who is now 97 years old, and survived the war hiding out in Italy.

Ownership Over Street Art: The rules governing ownership of an artistic work are well-established in copyright law but what if that copyright owner doesn’t own the physical surface on which their work is created?The question of who owns the title to this physical surface was recently considered in a summary judgement decision involving street art attributed to Banksy (a mural painting known as “Art Buff”, painted on a building in Folkestone).

75 Holocaust Scholars Demand Austria Cancel Jewish Historian’s Prison Sentence: Some 75 Holocaust scholars warned the Austrian ambassador in Washington that his country’s sentencing of Stephan Templ, a prominent historian and journalist, who exposed Austria’s failure to return pre-Holocaust property risked looking like an “extreme overreaction.” According to Austrian authorities, Templ, who is Jewish, omitted his aunt’s name in the application for the restitution of his family’s property, which was seized and never returned after the Nazis led the Anschluss of Austria in 1938.

Painting Suspected to Be Early Rembrandt Turns Up in New Jersey: A painting catalogued simply as “Oil on Board, Triple Portrait with Lady Fainting” sold on 22 September for $870,000 at Nye & Company Auctions in Bloomfield, New Jersey, against an estimate of $500-$800. The sleeper hit (lot 216), is believed to be a long-lost panel by a teenaged Rembrandt. The painting had been noticed by some in the trade and is suspected to be a depiction of “Smell” by a young Rembrandt from his series on the Five Senses. Dating from around 1625, the pictures are considered to be the very first paintings made by the Old Master, possibly done while still a student in the studio of the Dutch painter Pieter Lastman.

Painting Looted by Nazis Found Decades Later in Ohio: An Ohio man said he had no idea an 18th-century painting hanging in his home for over 20 years had been looted from a Polish museum by the Nazis during World War II. John Bobb, of Westerville, learned that history when the FBI’s Cincinnati office called in July.

FBI Cracks Down on Trade of Looted Syrian and Iraqi Cultural Artifacts: In support of the international crackdown on the black market trade of looted cultural artifacts, the FBI recently announced that art dealers may be prosecuted for engaging in the trade of stolen Iraqi and Syrian antiquities. Terrorist organizations such as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (“ISIL”) have pillaged these countries of their cultural relics for sale on the black market. Many find their way into the hands of art dealers and collectors in the Europe or even United States. In response, the FBI released an alert titled “ISIL Antiquities Trafficking” on August 25, 2015. Perhaps most strikingly, this alert warns that engaging in the purchase of these looted artifacts may constitute a violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2339A[1] for providing financial support to terrorist organizations.

Man Arrested for Destroying $120,000 Dale Chihuly Sculpture: A 43-year-old man has been arrested and charged with smashing a $120,000 Dale Chihuly sculpture. The piece was on view at the artist’s retrospective in his hometown at the Tacoma Museum of Art in Washington.

Theft strikes Chicago art fair: A theft occurred at a Chicago art fair this past weekend, in which one or more art thieves made off with eight paintings worth $3,410 from 28-year-old artist Lydia Cash’s booth.

Estate Planning When Art is Concerned: “As somebody’s art portfolio gets more valuable, it becomes a more significant item in their financial and tax lives,” said Michael Delgass, managing director of Sontag Advisory, a financial planning firm in New York. Like collecting itself, the planning surrounding it has tangible and intangible aspects, especially involving legacy issues, Mr. Delgass said. There are often unpleasant tax consequences for heirs, who may not be related to the collector and who may not be connoisseurs if they are.

Chinese art market cools as big buyers fail to pay up: The global Chinese art market continues to cool, according to the latest market report from the sales database Artnet and the China Association of Auctioneers. Chinese auction houses are also struggling to get buyers to pay their bills. In 2014 almost a third of lots above 10 million yuan ($2.2 million) went unpaid, or only partially paid, which suggests that some record sales might not be as thrilling as they sound.

Islamic Militant Faces War Crimes Court for Destruction of Cultural Heritage: A radical Islamic cleric who allegedly ordered the destruction of historic mausoleums and a mosque in Timbuktu, Mali has appeared before the International Criminal Court in The Hague in a landmark case, the first of its kind. Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi is suspected of committing war crimes in connection to the destruction of the ancient sites in 2012, after Islamists attacked and occupied the ancient city until they were driven away by French military intervention in 2013.

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